Getaway: reaching the winter beach

This note came in from a driver bound for the Eastern Shore after he looked at my Commuter page on holiday getaway routes:

"Have you ever put together a column or route to Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach or Ocean City using I-95 North to some crossover route heading east over to Route 1 and then going south on Route 1 down to the beach areas?

"In other words ... instead of going across the Bay Bridge, go up and around the bay to the beaches. That's where I am heading."

I haven't, but on the other hand, I'm not sure I could recommend any such course for someone from the Washington area.

Something really bad would have to happen at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to make a holiday trip on I-95 across the top of the bay a worthwhile choice. You could take I-95 to past Newark, Del., the drop south on DE 1, but you're talking more tolls and about 60 more miles than a Bay Bridge route.

Does anyone find that appealing, or have another route? Would it make any difference to get off 95 onto US 40 before Delaware? There just aren't that many options for dealing with the bay. I'd rather figure out the best time to hit the Bay Bridge.

The Maryland Transportation Authority, which runs the state's toll plazas, generally recommends these travel times during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend:
-- If you have to travel on Wednesday, get to the toll plazas before 7 a.m. or wait till after 10 p.m.
-- Thanksgiving through Sunday, go before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m.

At the Bay Bridge, you can fine tune that a bit more by signing up on this page for e-mail alerts about traffic conditions. You can check the traffic cameras on this page. Or, you can call 1-877-BAYSPAN to hear current traffic conditions at the bridge.

This is the transportation authority's advice about best (or maybe least worst) times to use the Bay Bridge:
-- Wednesday, before 12 noon and after 10 p.m. (eastbound)
-- Thursday, before 9 a.m. and after 3 p.m. (eastbound)
-- Friday, before 9 a.m. and after 3 p.m. (eastbound)
-- Saturday, no peak period expected
-- Sunday, before 10 a.m. and after 8 p.m. (westbound)